people fill churches –
I sit with robins and squirrels,
petunias and weeds
people fill churches –
I sit with robins and squirrels,
petunias and weeds
a mockingbird perched
on a garden pergola –
nature’s cover band
my fingers still hold
the memory of your legs –
sunlight behind clouds
distant owl croons,
mice huddle beneath dead leaves –
an early spring storm
rain taps the tin roof,
my cottage like a jazz band –
an early spring storm
black coffee mornings,
old bones cold from sleep and dreams –
bitter truths, slow dawn
there is a deep ache
that pulses beneath her chest –
twilight firelies
— Jonathan Garren